Generally when a book gets a number zero issue, its there to fill readers in before the real story starts. Such is the case with AVX #0.
Avengers vs. X-men focuses on two characters who, I assume, will play pivotal roles in the upcoming event. Scarlet Witch and Hope Summers are showcased here, each having half of the issue devoted to a story about them. People hoping for a explosive start to the event or even an idea of what to expect in the main event are going to be disappointed. This issue does little more than show where its two main characters are at, both physically and emotionally.
Once you accept that you're not going to get any substantial material that contributes to the actual event, you might find something to enjoy in this comic.
Scarlet Witch, having recently returned from...publication limbo, is having a hard time finding her place alongside her fellow Avengers, which is understandable considering the last time she saw them she tried to kill them and then de-powered all the mutants. I really felt sorry for Wanda in this story and, even though not much else happens, the story does a pretty good job in making the reader sympathetic towards her. I found it really painful to read the Vision's refusal to forgive her.
The second story features Hope Summers angrily leaving Utopia to fight some super-criminals. There's a cool action scene in this issue in which Hope comes off as a total badass(she headbutts the shit out of somebody)but there isn't really much else there that I didn't already know about her. Granted this issue is probably for people who don't know anything about her, but still. Hope is always angry and rebellious, I get a little tired of seeing her the same way in everything I read, but hopefully AVX actually does something interesting with her. I'm certainly interested in seeing how she handles the inevitable arrival of the Phoenix, and whether or not she'll actually live up to her Messianic reputation.
Overall, this issue isn't really anything special, but it does give readers at least a small idea of what's going on with the characters. It will probably be quickly forgotten once the actual event kicks off, but its always good to see little-used villains like MODOK and the Serpent Society.
7/10
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